


All of the while, it was you

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-29 09:30:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13924290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: Hajime flinched at the sound of a certain loud coworker’s voice echoing across the street, and finally turned to cross the street to Cafe Usami. Like before, he hesitantly turned back to look at the other building, back to the other man who had caught his attention, only to see that same man frowning at him.'It figures,' Hajime thought, 'Since we’re competing against each other now.'(Rival Coffee Shops AU)





	1. First impressions, and a warning

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is my first ever venture into the obligatory Coffee Shop AU, and since I've been on such a KomaHina/HinaKoma spree, I figured I might as well make this one too. I'm gonna say it now, I suck at writing multichapter fics and actually finishing them, so... we'll see how this turns out. Apologies for any OOC-ness that may occur, because honestly this sort of incredibly saccharine AU for anything DanganRonpa-related is bound to be a bit OOC anyway.
> 
> Title is taken from the song "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop"

_Who the hell decides to open up a coffee shop so close to another one?_

That was Hajime’s first thought when the supply movers started delivering to the previously empty former-bookstore… that just happened to be directly across the street from Cafe Usami. He had heard rumors, whisperings among the customers, that there was a competitor lurking around the corner, just waiting to take over the lot as soon as the last of the books were sent to storage. Hajime had brushed them off initially, thinking that whoever would do such a thing, especially in their small campus town where everyone already had their preferences, would have to be an idiot.

And yet, here it was.

“It’ll be okay, Hajime,” Chiaki had reassured him as he watched, “They’re probably not a chain shop, and we have a loyal customer base, so it probably won’t affect business… I think.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Hajime said, frowning as he continued to watch the movers bring in more and more equipment.

“Well,” Kazuichi jumped into the conversation, “I heard the place is gonna be called Monokuma Coffee. I saw a promotional flyer on campus, and apparently the mascot is some black and white teddy bear. You’d think it’d be weird to advertise with that creepy-looking thing, but it’s been raising interest.”

Hajime’s frown deepened- “How much interest?”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. “Ahaha, I mean, I’ve heard some of my mechanical engineering classmates talking about it, but most of them know that I work here, and they’ve promised me they won’t support the competition… But who can say?”

“How many fliers are around campus?” Chiaki asked.

“Now that you mention it, I think I might have seen one or two around the library,” Hajime said, “But I didn’t look too closely at them. They might be everywhere.”

“Hmm…” Chiaki hummed in thought.

The three stared out of Cafe Usami’s front window, silently watching the workers filter in and out of the building, until Sonia snapped their attention back to herself, and reminded them that even if she was their friend, as the assistant manager, she couldn’t accept it if they stood around watching the enemy formation.

After being chastised by Sonia, Hajime headed back to behind the counter, where there were thankfully no customers to get angry at him for his inattentiveness. Still, he couldn’t help but steal one more glance out the window, to the shop that was slowly taking shape.

_Don’t look at it. It’s not like it’s going to be a problem._

With that last thought, Hajime pushed the sight out of his mind.

* * *

The next shift that Hajime was scheduled to work for was four days later- curse the busy college life- and at that point, the competition’s building was beginning to look formidable. As he walked down the sidewalk, ready to cross the street to get to his own workplace, he briefly glanced inside the storefront window of the soon-to-be Monokuma Coffee, and pursed his lips.

While Cafe Usami prided itself on its cozy, kitschy atmosphere, Monokuma Coffee looked more sleek and modern. Apparently, he noted with some curiosity, the employees were the ones setting up the place. One man who had a heavily-bandaged hand, a long scarf, and looked like he could have been some sort of evil alchemist in another life was speaking to a rather shaky-looking woman, who was probably horribly intimidated. Hajime was so distracted by the scene _(Seriously, why is that guy wearing such a long scarf inside?)_ that he startled when he heard someone knocking on the window from the inside, almost right in front of him.

After nearly jumping out of his skin, he looked at the one who had interrupted his thoughts. A somewhat-frail looking man with an oversized jacket and the whitest, fluffiest hair Hajime had ever seen was pointing to something below with an almost too-cheerful smile. Hajime looked to where the other was pointing- a sign was plastered on the window from the inside, featuring the same bear mascot that Hajime remembered and large text saying _“Sorry, we’re not open yet!”_

Hajime looked back up at the other, who now wore an apologetic expression, and for a brief moment, there was eye contact; Hajime had never seen irises in such a pale color before, and it was almost-

“Hey, Hajime! What’re ya standing around for? We’re almost ready to open!”

Hajime flinched at the sound of a certain loud coworker’s voice echoing across the street, and finally turned to cross the street to Cafe Usami. Like before, he hesitantly turned back to look at the other building, back to the other man who had caught his attention, only to see that same man frowning at him.

 _It figures,_ Hajime thought, _Since we’re competing against each other now._

As he pushed open the door to Cafe Usami, he distantly noted that Akane (the aforementioned loud coworker) and Fuyuhiko (his not-as-loud coworker) were watching him with twin confused expressions as he put on his apron and stretched.

“Why were you spacing out like that in front of the enemy?” Fuyuhiko asked.

Hajime shook his head- “I was just trying to see what the inside looked like. To get an idea of what we’re up against, you know?”

“Nice thinking, but we’re gonna have to be more careful than that,” Fuyuhiko snickered. “Maybe we should send Chiaki to scope out what it’s like inside when they open tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Hajime shrugged.

* * *

“Iced caramel macchiato for Mahiru!” Hajime called out, eyeing the clock warily. Only seven more minutes until his shift ended, and he could finally go back to his small, parent-funded apartment to do (read as: procrastinate on) his homework. It was almost noon, and he’d been on his feet for longer than he’d have liked- one of the drawbacks of having minimal staff in a semi-popular cafe, he supposed. After the red-haired girl who had ordered the drink took the cup with a “thank you”, he sighed and glanced across the street again. There were still some employees (or so Hajime assumed) filtering in and out of the shop, and he briefly wondered what the next few days would be like, knowing that there was suddenly a clash of interest between two close shops.

 _Or maybe I’m just being overly-dramatic,_ Hajime thought to himself. _Yeah, that’s probably it._

“Hey, Hajime. I need a favor from you,” Akane said, grabbing his attention. If it was a favor for Akane, it certainly couldn’t mean anything good.

“Yeah?” Hajime asked warily.

“When you come in tomorrow morning, can you work on the chalkboard out front? I’ve got a gut feeling that Monokuma Coffee isn’t going to pull any punches trying to drag in customers, so we need our defenses up. If we set up a cool drawing on the board, it might bring over some of their buyers,” Akane said in a conspiratorial tone of voice.

“You make it sound like this is a warzone,” Hajime deadpanned.

“Like I said, I’ve got a gut feeling. Besides, how long have you been working here?” Akane said, folding her hands across her chest.

“...A year and a half,” Hajime said.

“And don’t you wanna help support the friends you’ve made in that year and a half?”

Hajime took a moment to think about it. As silly as it sounded, Hajime knew he could trust Akane’s usually accurate gut feelings, and he did consider Kazuichi, Sonia, Chiaki, Akane, and Fuyuhiko to be some of his closest friends (since he never really managed to make any at his classes) and he didn’t want to let them down, especially when it felt like they were almost having fun.

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” Hajime said after a pause.

Akane grinned brightly at him, and slapped him on the back a little too hard for his liking. “Awesome!”

Despite the force, Hajime smiled a bit to himself.

Not too much later, Chiaki walked into the building, and Hajime knew his shift was over. As he set aside his apron and got ready to leave, he took a quick look towards her- it was a wonder how Chiaki was even awake at noon, considering she often spent most of the night working on her computer science coursework and would then wipe out the moment she finished. She looked ready to fall asleep standing up, so Hajime not-so-subtly gestured for Fuyuhiko to make something strong for her. Once he was assured that Chiaki would make it through her shift without trouble, Hajime left Cafe Usami, and crossed the street so he could follow the sidewalk back to his apartment complex.

He didn’t get more than a few steps away when he was stopped by a voice calling out-

“Hey. You.”

Hajime turned, surprised to see the white-haired Monokuma Coffee employee from earlier.

“Do you… need something?” Hajime asked, a bit confused.

“You probably think we’re dumb for opening a chain right across from you, right?”

Upon hearing that, Hajime blinked once, twice. _Well, I did at first, but…_

“I just want you to know that I’m not really a fan of working at Monokuma Coffee either- it’s the only place that would hire me. But you should consider this… a warning.”

“A warning?” Hajime asked, confused.

“Monokuma Coffee is looking to establish its presence here as the beginning of a nationwide chain- and considering it’s a side-project of Enoshima enterprises, that has a high possibility of happening.”

Hajime frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say that you should try your hardest to reel in customers. Because we might end up stealing them if you don’t.”

Hajime stared at the boy, blank-faced.

“You sound so serious about being an employee at a coffee shop.”

The white-haired man shrugged, and looked at him with something strange in his eyes.

“Maybe I am. But I’d hate to see another small business get shut down by Enoshima enterprises- I sincerely would.” The white-haired man smiled then, almost innocuously. “That’s why I have the highest hopes that you’ll overcome us!”

“You’re… really weird, you know that?” Hajime said, furrowing his brows.

“Ahaha, it’s not the first time I’ve been told that.”

The white-haired man smiled and wrapped his arms around himself in a weird gesture that Hajime didn’t quite understand. It almost looked like he enjoyed belittling himself. Hajime suddenly felt a need to walk away, and fast.

And yet, despite the other man’s strange behavior and even stranger second impression, he had to admit, there had been something in that saccharine smile, those sea glass eyes, that cloud-white hair, that made him wonder what it would be like to see him again.

Surely it was only a passing curiosity, right?

_Thus marked what would eventually be known by the rest of Cafe Usami’s employees as the beginning of the city’s greatest- and weirdest- coffee shop romance._


	2. Second impressions, and a scone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He glanced across the street- in his haste to show the design to Sonia, he hadn’t even bothered to look inside Monokuma Coffee. He was somewhat surprised to see the same white-haired man from the previous day setting up a chalkboard as well. Hajime took a glance at it, and raised an eyebrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually smashes my head against the keyboard*
> 
> What even is this chapter.
> 
> I tried to make it interesting/humorous. I swear more KomaHina will be appearing soon.

Hajime stared at his laptop screen listlessly, much like he had been doing for the last hour and a half. The almost completely blank document shone bright, and a quick look in the corner of the screen revealed it was already approaching one in the morning. He had a seven-page paper due in two days, and he had hardly started. He glanced at his textbook and sighed.

_“The effectiveness of a positive or ‘appetitive’ stimulus will be reduced if the individual has received enough of that stimulus to satisfy its appetite. The opposite effect will occur if the individual becomes deprived of that stimulus...”_

Hajime groaned as the words swirled around in his head. His shift began in seven hours, and he needed a distraction and a good rest- neither of which were going to happen.

_Unless…_

“The chalkboard!”

Hajime stood up so quickly that his head swam for a brief moment, and he rushed across his room to grab some spare sheets of paper and a pencil. He had completely forgotten about coming up with a design for Cafe Usami’s chalkboard. While it wouldn’t afford him any rest, he’d certainly benefit from not staring at his laptop screen for another hour until he finally clocked out.

_Let’s see… we can’t officially have a mascot unless the owner approves of it, but maybe we could add some sort of character to catch attention instead of relying solely on words… what else can we do? What drink should we promote? Hmm…_

It took several sketches for Hajime to settle on a design that he liked, but once he was satisfied, he was sure he’d be able to finish the drawing the next morning.

But first, he needed to sleep.

* * *

“It’s perfect!” Sonia exclaimed when Hajime showed her the design. “I’m sure the customers will love it!”

“Thanks,” Hajime said, somewhat proud that he had gotten her approval. With the permission to go ahead with the drawing, Hajime carefully picked up the sticks of chalk and got to work. Ten minutes until opening time, and Hajime finished the design with a flourish. Smiling, he carefully picked up the chalkboard and walked out the front door of Cafe Usami to set it down. He glanced across the street- in his haste to show the design to Sonia, he hadn’t even bothered to look inside Monokuma Coffee. He was somewhat surprised to see the same white-haired man from the previous day setting up a chalkboard as well. Hajime took a glance at it, and raised an eyebrow.

_OPEN NOW_  
$2.75 boba tea + fresh-baked sweets EVERY DAY!  
With drinks so good, we can BEAR-ly contain ourselves! 

The real kicker was the drawing of the mascot, Hajime noted. There was something oddly nice about the design, despite the atmosphere of the inside of the building (or what he had seen of it, anyway) and Hajime almost felt compelled to ask about it, but he didn’t feel like getting scolded by Sonia. That, and he didn't have the chance.

“Did you draw the chalkboard? It’s surprisingly well done, if a bit girly,” The other man called out.

_“Surprisingly” well done?_

Sure, the drawing on Cafe Usami’s sign may have been a little more… cutesy than the Monokuma Coffee chalkboard, but his own was less complicated and more colorful. The decorative drawing of a bunny with angel wings was just a bonus.

_NEED A WAKE-UP CALL?_  
Experience our heavenly coffee!  
Special: Hazelnut Latte 

Hajime looked at the Monokuma Coffee employee across from him, and saw that he had also been observing the enemy sign. Hajime shifted his weight from foot to foot, a bit uncomfortable.

“Thanks… I think?”

Without him realizing it, the other had approached Hajime, and extended his hand. Hajime stared.

“Usually when someone offers their hand, you’re supposed to shake it. Though I understand if you’re hesitant to have contact with someone like me, considering the obvious...”

Hajime hesitantly offered his own hand, and then had what was possibly the most awkward handshake of his entire life.

“My name’s Nagito Komaeda. I look forward to seeing how you guys try to outperform us,” the other said with a smile that contrasted with his words.

“Hajime Hinata. And… uh, same to you, I guess?” Hajime said, feeling more than a bit conflicted.

Nagito hummed thoughtfully, and turned to enter Monokuma Coffee. Hajime watched as he entered the shop, and then returned to the inside of Cafe Usami. Sonia looked at him curiously, and Hajime realized he must have been making a weird face.

“Is everything alright, Hajime?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. From somewhere behind the counter, Hajime heard Kazuichi accidentally trip over his own two feet. The sight was oddly comforting; With the support of his friends and coworkers, he didn’t feel quite as bad about the encounter with Nagito.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

* * *

Hajime’s shift was… interesting, to say the least.

In the beginning, there was a steady influx of customers- students who were on their way to grab a quick drink before heading off to morning classes, passers-by who were looking for a place to relax, customers who Hajime knew by name, customers who always ordered the same drink. It was the usual routine, and then some; Sonia must have been right when she said the patrons would love the chalkboard design.

But as the morning began to settle down, Hajime couldn’t help but glance out the window and notice that there was a line of people gathering by Monokuma Coffee. Many with curiosity, some with mild disdain, but all looking to go inside. It was stupid to worry about a competitor at that point, Hajime knew, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind. Something that Nagito had said before.

_“I’d hate to see another small business get shut down by Enoshima enterprises.”_

He tried pushing that thought to the back of his mind, but didn’t have the chance- because at that moment, Akane strolled through the doors, triumphantly holding a paper bag in her hands.

“Akane, your shift doesn’t start for another hour...” Sonia said, her eyes drifting down to the paper bag. “Um, what is that?”

Akane grinned and motioned for Sonia to follow her to the back. Hajime watched with mild interest as she caught Kazuichi’s attention, and looked around the area- there didn’t seem to be anyone waiting to come in at the moment, and the last order on the queue had been handed out a few minutes ago.

_What’s going on?_

Keeping a careful ear out in case the bell on the counter was rung, Hajime made his way to the back room.

“I just had a little encounter with one of the employees at Monokuma Coffee,” Akane proclaimed loudly when everyone was gathered around, “And I managed to get my hands on a raspberry scone.”

“You did what?” Kazuichi said in surprise.

“Relax, relax. I didn’t pay for it,” Akane said with a grin.

“Then, how did you-” Sonia started, and Akane’s grin fell just the slightest bit.

“Well, there was this one employee… a short lookin’ guy with a pompadour. Asked if I wanted a free sample, but he said it in kind of a creepy way. I was only going inside to see what the place looked like, but… I mean, free food is free food, right?”

Hajime tried not to cringe at Akane’s ostensibly carefree attitude, and instead looked at the bag.

“But you didn’t get any of the coffee?” Kazuichi asked.

“Nah, that weird white-haired guy from yesterday recognized me and tried to get me to leave before I could get anything else,” Akane scoffed.

“Well,” Hajime said, “At least we can get a taste of the competition.”

The other three stared at him flatly.

“Uh… no pun intended?”

Ignoring Hajime’s botched joke, Akane opened the paper bag. Immediately, a sweet scent filled the air, and as Akane lifted the scone out from the bag, Hajime had to admit… it did look good. Carefully, she divided the scone into four pieces, one for each of them, and hesitantly lifted her own into her mouth to take a bite… making her eyes go wide as she chewed and chewed and chewed, practically stuffing the entire thing into her mouth.

“Iff too tafty,” She said, her muffled voice torn between distress and glee.

The rest of them, unfortunately, agreed.

“Well, the point of a coffee shop is coffee, right?” Kazuichi spoke after a while, “They can’t beat us there, can they?”

“Of course they can’t!” Sonia said with renewed vigor, “I won’t let that happen!”

_Ding!_

Hajime heard the sound of the bell at the counter, only then remembering that nobody was technically working at the front. Setting aside his illogical worries, Hajime returned to the front of the store, prepared to take the next customer’s order. Akane walked to one of the windowside tables with a spring in her step, seemingly cheered up by Sonia’s words as she waited for her shift to begin. When the order was put in, Hajime checked the clock- only a little less than an hour until his shift ended. And as he stifled a yawn, he hoped he’d be able to stay awake for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re: The first-name-last-name thing, keep in mind I'm only familiar with the English translation where they use that system, and it's hard to break habits.
> 
> Also, for someone like Hajime, I have NO idea what his career path in a college/university setting would be, so I just randomly chose psychology. I also know nothing about psychology... oops. I'm doing the research though!
> 
> Monokuma Coffee's sign: https://i.imgur.com/ZfdVz07.png  
> Cafe Usami's sign: https://i.imgur.com/ja04tja.png


	3. Classroom experiences, and a phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is something wrong?” Hajime asked as he put on the apron Kazuichi had used.
> 
> “Yeah. Do you have any idea why your weird friend is here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I hit a major writer's block and I'm only just now recovering ^^; I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint, ahaha...

At 11 p.m., with an hour left before his paper’s deadline, Hajime managed to finish it. Naturally, his first impulse was to text Chiaki with a long string of texts describing his exasperation in vivid detail.

* * *

**I wonder why you always work so close to deadlines…?**  
(11:01 PM)

 _I perform better under pressure, I guess._  
(11:02 PM)

 **Don’t forget you have to work tomorrow morning, though.**  
(11:02 PM)

 **You’d better get some sleep.**  
(11:03 PM)

 _Actually, I was wondering… do you think maybe we could switch shifts?_  
(11:04 PM)

 _I’ve got an afternoon class too, and I know if I don’t have time to crash then I’ll fall asleep through it._  
(11:06 PM)

 **Hajime, I worry about you sometimes.**  
(11:08 PM)

 _I know, I know. I need to take better care of myself, but I don’t think I really have the time to._  
(11:09 PM)

 _I don’t know how you manage to work on a CompSci degree AND still have time for work and sleep and video games._  
(11:09 PM)

 **Sleep is optional. For me, that is. Not for you.**  
(11:10 PM)

 _I don’t know why I’m surprised you said that…_  
(11:10 PM)

 **It’s 11:11, make a wish.**  
(11:11 PM)

* * *

Hajime looked at his phone, then leaned back in his chair. Chiaki was one of his closest friends, and there were times when she tended to act like a mother hen- not that he was complaining, but when she worried, he felt guilty. With her last text in mind, Hajime closed his eyes, and thought.

“I wish there was a way I could relax,” He muttered to himself.

Seconds later, his phone buzzed.

 **If your wish was for me to switch shifts with you tomorrow, consider it granted.**  
(11:11 PM)

Hajime smiled to himself.

It was good to have friends like Chiaki.

The next morning, Hajime slept in far past sunrise. Thankfully he woke up before his emergency alarm, meaning he had more time to mess around and get ready before he left for his afternoon class. With the advantage of extra time, he wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he decided that he could take the “scenic route” to his classroom. That was the benefit of living within walking distance from everywhere he needed to be, considering the span of his campus’ influence. Even if it meant sweating on the hotter days.

Arriving a few minutes before the lecture was supposed to begin, Hajime found that for once, he was looking forward to the day.

And then, later...

“...Based on replicating the behavior they’ve seen in their environment. While operant conditioning focuses on reward and punishment, social cognitive learning is one of…”

Hajime honestly didn’t intend to tune out of the lecture. _Really._ He had started off taking notes like any diligent student, but somewhere along the way, he had begun drawing in the margins of his notebook, which developed into drawing on any blank surface on the paper that he had let his mind wander to. Without quite realizing it, he had covered an entire page in little drawings. Glancing up after the fact, he was secretly thankful that nobody had caught him slacking. He returned his attention to the lecture.

(Looking at his notebook later, he briefly wondered if he should take on drawing for Cafe Usami’s chalkboard more often; He wasn’t too bad of an artist, if he let himself think about it.)

As soon as his class ended, he stood up and gathered his belongings, and began the trip to his workplace, backpack in tow to be stored in the back room until his shift ended.

When he arrived at the Cafe Usami, though, his light mood was slightly dampened by the confused atmosphere in the room. Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi were talking in muted voices, at least until they noticed Hajime standing there. Kazuichi grinned, and stepped away from behind the counter, removing his white and gold apron and practically tossing it to Hajime.

“Looks like it’s your time to shine,” Kazuichi said jokingly. Hajime gave him a small smile, though it faded when he saw Fuyuhiko looking at him expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” Hajime asked as he put on the apron Kazuichi had used.

“Yeah. Do you have any idea why your weird friend is here?”

Hajime furrowed his brows- “What weird friend?”

“The guy from Monokuma Coffee that you were talking to.”

Hajime followed Fuyuhiko’s line of sight, surprised to see Nagito sitting on one of the chairs, looking completely relaxed as he scanned his eyes across the pages of a book. A half-empty mocha frappe cup was placed dangerously close to the edge of the table.

_Him again?_

Hajime put away his backpack and stepped behind the counter, trying not to let himself be noticed yet.

“I don’t know why he’s here. Did he say something?” Hajime asked, receiving an eyeroll from Fuyuhiko in response.

“Damn right he said something- does the guy have an inferiority complex? He was saying something about his _unwelcome presence_ and his _troublesome predisposition._ It’d be poetic if it didn’t make him sound like a nutjob,” Fuyuhiko said dryly.

Hajime raised his eyebrows, surprised at the extent of Nagito’s self-deprecating attitude.

“Do you want me to talk to him?”

“Maybe later,” Fuyuhiko said, “If he’s still around. For now, he seems harmless, and we’re close to closed-campus hours so we’ll probably be getting more people coming in.” Fuyuhiko smirked then- “No distractions, y’know?”

Hajime nodded, and his shift began.

True to Fuyuhiko’s words, more customers (mostly students, occasionally others) filtered in and out of Cafe Usami, and Hajime was grateful that he wasn’t the only one working at that time. Occasionally, when he had a moment to himself, he would look to where Nagito was sitting, somehow both surprised and unsurprised to see that he still remained in place. Hajime almost wondered if he was somehow secretly scouting out the location (which was a silly notion, but still…) until Fuyuhiko gave him a not-very-gentle slap on the back.

“We’ve got a lull in customers, and that guy’s been here for like, two and a half hours.”

“We technically can’t kick him out,” Hajime said, “Since he hasn’t been doing anything inappropriate. And it’s not really illegal for someone to go to a competing business just to get a drink…” He thought about it for a moment, and added, “But I guess I could talk to him. I can use it as an excuse to move around a bit.”

“Thanks,” Fuyuhiko said with a nod.

Hajime stepped out from behind the counter and approached Nagito’s table. It took a moment for Nagito to realize he was there, but when he noticed, a smile spread across his face.

“Oh, Hajime! I didn’t even know you had started your shift.”

“It started an hour ago,” Hajime said.

“Ah, and you’re here to talk to little old me when you could be more productive behind the counter? I’m flattered,” Nagito replied, looking oddly content for someone who had managed to indirectly insult both Hajime and himself in the same sentence.

“Actually, I was wondering why…” Hajime started, then stopped when he looked at the amount of pages of Nagito’s book, “...did you read almost that entire book while you were here?”

Nagito smiled at him, and said, “Of course. Reading is one of the few things I excel at.” He paused, and then frowned. “Ah… if you were wondering why I’m here, I promise it isn’t for any underhanded reasons. I just needed a place to escape for a bit, and, well… Monokuma Coffee isn’t exactly a place I’d like to spend all my free time at.” He chuckled.

Hajime was almost impressed by Nagito’s candid speech.

“Plus, who knows how long this place will still be open?”

_Scratch that- not impressed._

Hajime sighed, and glanced at the now almost empty cup of coffee still perched near the edge of the table.

“Look, I don’t think I can make you leave since you’re not really doing anything wrong, but it’d be good if we could clear the space for other customers, and-“

“Say no more,” Nagito interrupted with a cheerful smile, “I shouldn’t have assumed that I’d be lucky enough to finish my book while I was here.”

With that, he picked up his book and headed for the door, only stopping to lightly wave goodbye at Hajime before he exited. Meanwhile, Hajime stood there, mentally going over the exchange that had just taken place.

_Am I dumb for thinking that could have gone better?_

After several seconds, he shook his head, cleared his mind, and grabbed the cup left on the table. He almost didn’t notice the black, rectangular object on the floor, just below his foot. When he did notice it, he immediately felt grateful that he didn’t step on it- it turned out to be a cell phone, and he surely would have cracked the screen if he hadn’t picked it up- but then frowned when he realized it was Nagito’s. Hajime set the cup back on the table and rushed to the door, hoping that he could catch up to Nagito to return the phone before he got out of sight, but it was too late; There was no sign of him around. The phone had probably fallen out of Nagito’s pocket, and unless Nagito noticed it before Cafe Usami closed, he wouldn’t be able to get it back that night.

Unless Hajime paid a visit to Monokuma Coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens *insert eyes emoji here*

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhhhhh I still have no idea what I'm doing but hit me up on twitter @doomtemp .


End file.
